DEFENDERS - Pinnacle
by Louise the Lovely
Summary: The Defenders are gone. Equestria is vulnerable. And, Twilight has to find them all alone.
1. Prologue

**_PROLOGUE_**

**THOUSANDS OF YEARS BEFORE CELESTIA,** the now known world of Equestria was empty - uncultivated, unpowered, unimportant. The land was lifeless. Even the now vibrant and green Everfree Forest was dead. There was no happiness. No sadness. No magic. Nothing at all.

After millions of years of loneliness and neglect, the dead world would finally hear a graceful voice, shining with hope.

That voice would come from a looming cloud of heaven, watching over the universe, looking down at the many worlds.

**. . . **

**"SIRE, SIRE!" **called out the tremulous voice in the Gods' atrium. "We've discovered something new!"

The king and queen of the heavenly kingdom looked up at the small messenger. "What could it possibly be?" asked the queen.

As the messenger dashed up the the king and queen, he quickly realized to kneel down and bow. "Queen Jewel," he recited, "I have a discovery from the stargazing tower."

The queen's eyes immediately lit up. "Wonderful!" she shouted. She blushed. "Astronomy always has fascinated me. Proceed with the letter."

The meeker king smiled at his wife for her fascination. The messenger grinned as he read the letter, "Dearest and most royal King Gemerson and Queen Jewelia," he read, "we have found evidence of a new world highly substantial to great power. Please report to the tower as soon as possible to gaze at the new discovery. Signed, Professor Wondersen."

The messenger looked up to find the queen smiling as she rose from her pillow on the ground. The king also rose, using his magic to take the letter from the messenger. The pegasus bowed and flew out of the atrium.

"Gem," said Queen Jewel, "If they're serious - this could mean so much to Crystalia! We've always dreamt of being the overlord Heaven."

King Gem fixed his gaze on her and stopped. "Yes," he spoke, "That could happen. There is a possibility."

They looked at each other one last time before they took off in flight.

**. . .**

**"THE BOOK! THE BOOK!" **Celestia was screaming. "It's cut off! The pages are gone!" She was breathing hard, sweat flooding her face. "NO - it can't be cut off. I NEED IT!" She hollered. In her frustration, she fell to the ground, hallucinating. "No…" she whimpered.

Suddenly, a spark ignited in her body. She slowly but powerfully stood to her full height, spreading her hooves on the dark library floor. Her eyes darkened to a night black, but then burnt to a red hot burning fire. And before Princess Celestia knew it, her coat turned a blinding white, her mane a fully fed fire. "THE BOOK!" she screamed, and blew up half of the famed Canterlot archives.

For the first time in one thousand years, Celestia had a rage shift.

She slowly returned to normal, all of the magic and power draining out her body. As she fainted to the ground with a loud "thud", eleven guards rushed to her side to bring her to Princess Luna.

Luna was sitting quietly on her bed next to Celestia's, reading a large and torn brown book. She looked highly captivated in it, as if it were important. The guards slammed the door on the way in, surprising Luna. "What is it? What's wrong?" she asked. She struggled to get a look at who or what they were carrying, but they soon realized that it was Celestia. Luna gasped and nearly fell over when she shoved the book under her pillow. A drip of sweat trickled down her temple, and she quickly wiped it off.

When the guards were finally done with putting Celestia in her bed, she started to regain consciousness. She was covered in ash, her horn and wings slightly burnt. Her hair was also different. The beautifully colored flowing mane was a long, straight black. Luna speedily got wet towels to clean her sister up while she told her what had happened.

"Now," spoke the quiet Luna, who was cleaning up Celestia, "what happened?"

Celestia had become partly conscious with her sister's help. She weakly spoke, "The book. The book of Crystalia. It's… cut off.

Luna's eyes shrunk. Without showing her fear, she let Celestia continue.

"I had a prophecy… a vision. In my dreams. A black shadow of a diamond crept over Equestria… my kingdom. The Defenders are gone, Luna. And I don't know why. I need that book to find out why this may be."

"My sister," Luna began, "The Defenders… are gone?"

Celestia nodded.

"Who will defend from evil?"

"I don't know," Celestia spoke, "but we must defend the kingdom at all costs. Please, sister, we must do it. For my plan. Without the defenders, who will I have to persuade to the citizens that… that…"

And without another word, The sisters stared into the night sky as a layer of it deteriorated.

Equestria was, for the first time, vulnerable.


	2. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

**PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE JERKED AWAKE, **breathing hard with drips of pure sweat trickling down her face. She regained herself, and started reassuring herself that it was just a nightmare. When she finally finished calming herself down, she asked herself what she was dreaming. _I was looking at a black cutie mark, _she continued, _it was shaped like a gem. Then it grew and grew on the floor, and it engulfed me in the darkness. _She started jumping to conclusions. _What did that mean, _she rushed, _Was that a prophecy? Did it symbolize - death? Hatred? _She nearly screamed at the thought.

Spike slowly started waking up from hearing Twilight. "Twilight," he muttered, "Are you okay?"

Twilight gasped at hearing Spike's voice that late at night. She then quickly did a sigh of relief, and spoke, "Yes… I'm fine. Just" - she did not want to scare him - " my dream woke me up."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes - just, go back to sleep."

"Alright," Spike said, "just no more interruptions, please!"

Twilight smiled at Spike's wit. But she didn't stay in that mood for long as she eased back into her bed. She lay looking up at the ceiling of the elaborately ornate Canterlot Castle guest suite. _But… what did that mean? _ That was all she could ask herself, without having any prior knowledge of the situation whatsoever. She gave up on the matter and dozed off, back inside the gates of her own dreaming mind.

_Luna, I fear Twilight Sparkle is getting prophecies in her dreams! She find out about the Pinnacle, her friends, my plan…_

Twilight woke again, but this time, in the orange dawn of daylight. _Don't think about the dreams_, she thought, _They're just dreams. They don't even make sense! _ She let it go and focused on another subject.

While thinking, she noticed her stomach was rumbling wildly. Twilight then quickly readied herself to go out for the day. Afterwards, she trotted casually to the guards at the castle gates, preparing to leave.

One of the guards noticed her. "Princess Sparkle," he called, "preparing to leave?"

Twilight answered, "Yes. Do you know of a place to eat?" she asked as her stomach yelled at her.

"No, except for the restaurant around the corner. Have a pleasant day." he said as he ordered the gates to become ajar.

"Thank you. As with you," Twilight replied. It was a beautiful day - the sun was shining, the sky bluer than usual. She strolled nonchalantly down the street to a bustling city with mares and stallions everywhere. It was also a good day for the other ponies in the city. Everybody was talking, laughing, having a lovely day. Twilight lived and loved the moment she was in, completely forgetting the dreams she had that night.

"Princess," a young filly spoke in front of her. She was a white unicorn with a pink mane.

"Oh! I'm sorry," Twilight apologized, "is there something that you need? Where is your mother?"

The filly smiled weakly. Twilight could sense something in the filly - all of the sudden, a quarter of her happiness was drained out and was replaced by sympathy.

"Princess," she spoke softly, "please come with me."

Twilight was surprised by this young filly's initiative, yet she followed her path. The filly led Twilight to a garden behind a busy bakery. "Umm… are we really supposed to be here?"

"Oh yes. I need a secret place to speak to you." Then, without hesitation, she moved a rock in the flowerbeds. It revealed a small button shaped as a unicorn. She pressed it with her hoof, and the ground began to fall. It fell in different levels, making stairs leading to underground. "Hurry, Princess!" she called as she started down the stairs.

Stunned, Twilight flopped down a stair, then regained balance and ran with the filly. The stairs rose, and covered the hole in the ground without a trace of its existence.

Panting, Twilight looked around. It was pitch black underground. "Hello? Where are you?" Twilight called for the filly.

"I apologize, Princess!" the filly yelled. Suddenly, the lights flickered on to a hallway equivalent to Canterlot Castle's. Twilight looked around in awe at the ornate walls and floors, and she looked at the ceiling. Twilight gasped.

It was a picture of the black gem.


	3. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

**TWILIGHT FELL HARD TO THE GROUND.** "What.. how?" she sputtered.

"My name is Treasure," the white filly spoke, "I apologize for bringing you here to one of the Sacred Palaces. You see, I am a Spirit Messenger."

"Sacred Palaces? Sprit Messenger?" Twilight asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes - you know - one of the Defenders' safe holds? One of the Messengers that represents the sprit of the land?"

"Defenders?" Twilight was completely unaware of what Treasure was saying. _Sacred Palaces? Defenders? I've never read about these before._

"Princess Twilight," Treasure said powerfully, "do you know who the Defenders of Equestria even are?"

Twilight felt extremely and utterly minuscule under the filly's force and power. "Well… no."

Treasure gasped. "No! How could this be? How could Celestia, even with her horror, not teach you?"

"Celestia's horror? What are you talking about?"

Without answering Twilight's question, Treasure moved on. "The Defenders are… well, the protecters of all of Equestria. Without them, The kingdom - the world would fall. The kingdom would be completely vulnerable. The magic would be completely vacuumed out in no time at all."

"And… they're gone."

Twilight's eyes widened.

"But… how? Why? Where did they come from?"

Treasure shook her head and sighed. She walked to the end of the hall and moved a picture that was hanging, revealing a small bottle filled with a gleaming white potion.

Twilight had seen it before.

"Now, Princess, have you ever by chance read the book in the Canterlot Archives that informs you of Crystlia, the long lost heavenly kingdom?" Treasure asked.

Something went off in Twilight's mind. "Yes! I… I have! When I was just a filly, I read that book. But, it was cut off… I tried to tell Princess Celestia about it, but she was busy writing in her quarters."

"That's wonderful!" the filly exclaimed, "Brilliant! Now, I can show you the rest of the story without any trouble."

Twilight smiled a little at Treasure. She didn't want her to see Twilight's fear of the potion.

"Princess, please drink this. You haven't got much time. I won't be here when you come back. I will have already disappeared."

Without a word, the fearful Twilight drank the entire bottle, drop for drop. She could feel her world slip away as she heard sweet Treasure's last words.

"I'm sorry…"


	4. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

**QUEEN JEWEL AND KING GEM APPEARED** in front of Twilight. They each had a coat made of pure diamond. Their eyes were a crystal blue. Somehow, these ponies reminded Twilight of the Crystal Kingdom.

She stopped playing in her own head and watched the king and queen land gracefully on the astronomy tower. "Greetings, Professor Wondersen!" the queen called.

Twilight watched as a tall, young stallion made his way out to greet the king and queen. "Good evening, your Highnesses," the stallion bowed, "it is an honor to have you here in person."

"Professor," the queen started, "we love your inquiries. Now, what is this talk about a new planet?"

"Oh - yes. Please make your way inside. I have to use the telescope to show you."

Twilight walked in silently along with the group, careful not to touch anything. She quickly realized that it was still just a vision, and she strolled along.

Professor Wondersen led them to a solid brick wall. _Why are we here?_ Twilight wondered.

Suddenly, she saw Professor Wondersen's eye flicker with mischief. He pounded his hoof on the wall. _Huh? What is he doing? _Twilight asked to herself.

A flash of color filled the room, nearly blinding Twilight. First is was the green of a blade of fresh grass. Then, it turned to the color of the bright yellow sun, the luminescent blue moon, and the entire rainbow filled the room for a half second, and then was out in a blinding white flash.

Twilight nearly dropped to the floor; thankfully, her wings held her up. "What the - " she said out loud when the brick wall creaked and moaned when it dropped to the floor with a heavy thud. _There is a third floor to the observatory, _Twilight thought, _it must be a secret! Maybe they used a translucent spell on this floor_.

Twilight trotted up the steps to the gleaming diamond king and queen, who were already halfway there. The professor stopped abruptly to watch as the wall jerked up, without leaving a hint of it being a doorway to the third observatory.

They moved on until they finally reached the third floor. As Twilight stepped inside, she gaped in its beauty. The dome overhead was a perfect transparent glass - perfect for stargazing. The sun shone brightly through the rooftop and the sky clear of clouds. As she felt the amazement of the room, she noticed something.

_How will he show the king and queen the new planet if it's daytime?_

Just as Twilight questioned this, the professor began to stride slowly up to the center of the room. In the center lay a large star, somewhat similar to the cutie mark on Twilight's hip. Wondersen stood there with his hooves apart and his head elegantly bowed as his horn's magic began to work.

The power was small at first, but then grew to be giant - about the height of Celestia. His head then jerked up to the top of the ceiling, and his eyes became blinding white lights.

Suddenly, the exact same thing happened with King Gem and Queen Jewel. Their wings lifted their diamond bodies off the ground and their horns gained even more power than Professor Wondersen. Their eyes illuminated as the room began to shift in all directions.

"What's going on?" Twilight said aloud as the floor swerved up and down between her feet. She ducked her head and locked her body on the ground. Her eyes closed tight as she felt the room levitate into the air. The magic power going on in the room was so strong that she didn't think she would be able to live through it.

With a sharp jolt, everything stopped. Twilight heard the king and queen's graceful _clink_ as their diamond bodies gently landed on the floor. On the other hand, Wondersen, in all of the magic in the room, had been lifted slightly in the air. He fell with a small _thud_.

Twilight dared to flick one eye open. What she saw was incredible.

They were in space.

The stars clumped together in billions surrounding the glass room. Twilight stood up to take in the glory when she felt Wondersen began to move the glass dome slowly with his magic. Queen Jewelia smiled joyously to her solemn husband, but her smile faded as she regained professionalism.

"We are moving towards the target destination," Twilight heard Wondersen say.

Twilight walked over to where Wondersen was standing as she saw a minuscule sphere of matter inch closer with the dome's travels. _Is this really Equestria? _Twilight asked herself.

The king and queen walked slowly up to the planet. "Professor," Gem spoke, "how could this be of any worth? It's so… unimportant."

"Your majesty," Wondersen replied, "take a look after I apply the Core Spell. Then you might be able to decipher why I have brought you to see this."

His horn grew slightly with power. The magic grew as the power gingerly surrounded the planet. His horn let out a sharp blast of power, and the planet started to shake in the power. It started to open up slightly, and soon the entire planet was cracked open. Twilight looked closely for any sign of good news inside the planet.

Suddenly, the planet released light from inside. The glory of the light spread all over the galaxy that they were in, slowly but delicately encasing the stars and glass dome that they were in.

The king and queen's eyes widened. The light from around the dome started to flood in, and Twilight could feel its warmth surrounding her. It felt like pure magic, happiness, and hope was seeping into her body. She closed her eyes and let the light take her body. The swirls of the glow were everywhere, and even the king could feel it.

"Gem," Jewel started, "this is incredulous. Professor, we need to take this planet. Look at the wonders!"

The professor smiled. "Thank you," he spoke, "thank you."

And without another word, Twilight Sparkle disappeared back into the present.


End file.
